SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket to blast off from Florida on 1st commercial mission

By Brian Lada, AccuWeather meteorologist and staff writer

The world’s most powerful rocket will take to the sky next week as SpaceX launches its Falcon Heavy from Cape Canaveral, Florida, weather permitting.

This will only be the second launch of this megarocket. The first was a demonstration flight on Feb. 6, 2018 when SpaceX founder Elon Musk launched his Tesla Roadster into space as a dummy payload.

“Falcon Heavy is the most powerful operational rocket in the world. Only the Saturn V moon rocket, last flown in 1973, delivered more payload to orbit,” SpaceX said on its website.

Liftoff was originally set for Sunday evening; however, it has been delayed until later next week. The exact date and time has not been announced. 

The Falcon Heavy lifting off from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 6, 2018. (Photo/SpaceX)

Showers and thunderstorms will be around Florida's east coast on Monday and Tuesday, which would not be favorable for launch.

Weather conditions will improve by Wednesday as rain and thunderstorms depart the region with dry weather expected to continue through the balance of the week.

People traveling to the Cape Canaveral area to watch the launch in person should arrive at their viewing location well ahead of the launch. The last time the Falcon Heavy took to the sky, over 100,000 people flocked to the region, causing traffic jams near some of the better viewing spots.

Spectators should also pack some snacks, drinks, sunscreen and their cameras.

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Although this is the rocket’s second launch, it will be the first commercial mission for the megarocket.

The Falcon Heavy will be delivering the Arabsat 6A communications satellite into geostationary orbit, providing communication coverage over the Middle East and North Africa.

The 13,200-pound Arabsat 6A satellite was built by Lockheed Martin and will be operated by the Saudi Arabian company Arabsat.

While this is the primary objective of the upcoming launch, SpaceX will also attempt to recover all three of the first-stage boosters; two returning back to the Florida coast and one on the company’s floating platforms in the Atlantic Ocean. 

The two side boosters of the Falcon Heavy landing at Cape Canaveral, Florida, just to the south of where they launched from moments earlier on Feb. 6, 2018. (Video/SpaceX)

The SpaceX Falcon Heavy is scheduled to launch again later this year, tentatively in June, to launch a mission for the U.S. Air Force.

Other military and scientific research satellites will be hitching a ride on this launch.

One of these scientific research missions will be LightSail, which is a citizen-funded project from The Planetary Society, to test the ability to use sunlight to propel a solar sail through the solar system.